Objectives A dynamic event-triggered collaborative path-following control method for multiple unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) is proposed, considering the constraints of network bandwidth resources, model uncertainties, and external environmental disturbances.

Methods Specifically, a dynamic variable is introduced to design a dynamic event-triggered mechanism at the cooperation layer, and a dynamic event-triggered path parameter update law is developed to reduce network traffic. Additionally, a path-parameter predictor is designed to estimate the path parameters of neighboring USVs during the communication interval. In the guidance layer, a line-of-sight-based guidance law is proposed. Finally, in the control layer, a super-twisting observer is used to estimate the total disturbances, and a super-twisting dynamic control law is developed based on the estimated disturbances.

Results Stability and Zeno behavior analyses demonstrate that the closed-loop system is input-to-state stable, and the proposed approach does not exhibit Zeno behavior. Comparative simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic event-triggered cooperative path-following control method for USVs.

Conclusions The proposed method can achieve cooperative path following while reducing both transient and steady-state network traffic.